


The Strangers (prequel): Catbird seat

by LilyWinters



Category: The Strangers (Movies - Bertino)
Genre: Horror, Slasher
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:13:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23240785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyWinters/pseuds/LilyWinters
Summary: A paranoid boss and his team are working at a country house when a girl knocks at the door and they find themselves forced into a cat-and-mouse game.This is meant to be a prequel to the first movie.





	The Strangers (prequel): Catbird seat

**Author's Note:**

> My native language is Spanish so excuse me if I make mistakes.

Characters:

Aurelio, 50 years old.

Marcus, 32 years old.

Tamara, 27 years old.

Sophia, 43 years old.

Man in The Mask

Pin Up

\--

There isn’t a single sign of moon anywhere near but some light through the thick clouds manages to illuminate the campestral location, enough for the human eye to discriminate the shapes of trees, bushes and branches on the ground even though the most attacked sense would be the smell since the humidity is intense enough to come up the nostrils. There’s almost absolute silence: the next country house is half a mile away and it’s not holidays so no rich person is going to be enjoying their summer lodgment anytime soon. And in this plain mere sound of wind, the fact that there’s a skinny malnourished cat playing with a bird at the edge of the deserted road is not only atypical but also absurd since due to the mentioned conditions it has positioned himself as the perfect prey for another predator to detect his growls. The bird has no worries though, it can’t have them when it’s almost dead, neck caught into the fangs of the tiny beast who despite its hunger doesn’t seem to commit to eat it but just shake it violently to see its wings tremble.

The short ringtone gets Pin Up’s attention back into the pickup truck. She turns her head away from the window to take the mobile phone from the upper part of the glove compartment. Only “:-)” was sent but it was enough to understand they were home and that he was coming. She leaves the phone back in its place and scrubs with her nail the flat side of the knife next to her on the seat while looking at the cat again. Now he has released the bird and surprisingly it gets on its feet struggling to find balance but eventually manages to fly and get free.

After five or ten minutes, the truck door opens. First thing to get inside is the long axe thrown as a feather onto the seat, followed by the tall body of The Man in The Mask who struggles to accommodate his legs for a few seconds before the engine is on and the vehicle is moving.

Between the tiny holes for the eyes, their masks look at each other.

\--

_Living room of a country house. There’s a large picture window on the front wall and a sofa under it. On the left, a corridor and a perfectly cushioned armchair that points directly to the small night table on the right where four people are seated at. Aurelio is next to Tamara who is in front of Marcus and Sophia. On the night table there are three mobile phones and a laptop. Close to them there is the house door which communicates to the path outside that leads to the two contrasting BMW parked at the front gate, near the shed._

Aurelio. —I still can’t see how it’s going to work.

Marcus.—Maybe we should take off the upper part, make it rounder.

Aurelio. —No, that would cause trouble with the whole body. It needs to be balanced.

Marcus.—Let’s think about it tomorrow, okay? We’ve been working non stop for three hours. My brain is dizzy now.

Aurelio. —I can’t believe it. _(To Tamara, tucking her hair behind the ear despite her obvious discomfort)_ – You hear him? The business man is tired. We are not on holiday, Marcus.

Marcus.—I know, Aurelio, but you said you wanted us to spend the night here so what’s the difference if we continue early in the morning?

Aurelio. —If I told you to stay here over night, it’s to keep the design safe. We can’t risk it at the city. Internet, computers, no, that’s too tempting for the competition and its hackers.

Marcus.—Then we finish it tomorrow.

Aurelio. —No, Marcus! As soon as I see morning light, we are leaving straight ahead to patent it. _(Looking at Tamara)_ We can’t trust the dark, can we?

Sophia. —You are paranoid, Aurelio.

Aurelio. —Have you seen what happened to Timothy’s? Two million. It cost two million for them all because some displeased employee sold himself to the competition. Not one. Not one and a half. Two million because they stole their design.

Sophia.—Yeah, but they were already on production and they didn’t want to pay the patent till the first series was done.

Aurelio. —Well, I’m not making the same mistakes. That’s why I have you three by my side. You are the only ones who I can trust. We all have the same interests. If business fails, it fails for all the executives.

Sophia. —No offense but what about Tamara then?

Aurelio. —A secretary knows how to keep quiet for her own convenience _(He squeezes her knee and leaves his hand on it),_ doesn’t she?

Tamara. _(Whispering)_ —Sure… Gentlemen, lady, would you want some coffee?

Marcus. —Yes, please, Tamara.

_Tamara walks to the kitchen. There’s a fridge in the corner and a large wooden table in the center as well as a long marble counter against the wall. She fills a kettle with water and puts it on the hob. The sound of the conversation from the people a few meters away from her is still audible as a loud noise. Since the rooms are connected, she looks at them while waiting for the water to boil but then finds the small window above the stove more interesting. She can see a pair of trees through it, the wind clearly making the leaves shake; and then there’s a frozen silhouette next to one of them. Tamara lays her forehead on the glass to inspect it better. It doesn’t move but from the distance it looks human-shaped._

_Then, the sound of the whistling kettle makes her yelp._

Marcus. _(From the living room)_ —Everything okay there?

Tamara. —Yes, Mr. Marcus.

_Tamara prepares the cups of coffee on a tray. Once back at the living room, she leaves it on the night table for them._

Aurelio. —No, that’s not how you do it. I told you before, we need to keep the body like that. The upper part is the fucking problem.

Marcus. —Maybe if you listen to me and try drawing it rounder…

Aurelio. —For god’s sake, no Marcus!

Sophia.—Please, calm down, you don’t need to argue like this.

Tamara. —Maybe it’s the base.

Aurelio. —What?

Tamara. —Can I try something with your permission?

Aurelio. —Yeah… I mean, it’s already not working so…

Tamara. ( _Doing a few clicks_ ) —I think that’s it. Not the body or the upper part. The base was the problem, it just needed better support.

Aurelio. _(Excited)_ —Oh my god, yes! Are you seeing this you two?!

Sophia.—Oh, that’s perfect.

Marcus. —That’s exactly what we needed. How did you do that, Tamara?

Aurelio. —She is amazing. Not just a pretty dolly face, huh? Who would have thought you had such a smart brain inside that little head? _(He pinches her cheek)._

_All of a sudden, they hear three knocks on the door. Instinctively, the boss puts the screen laptop down and makes a gesture for Tamara to take it away. He comes closer to the entrance and asks who the person is but since no one answers, he decides to carefully open the door. The dark silhouette of a woman stands in front of him in plain silence._

Aurelio. —Yes, who are you? _(He presses with insistence the key of the outside light but it doesn’t work)_. Are you lost or something?

_By this time, Marcus comes at the door too trying uselessly to visualize the woman’s face._

Marcus. —What’s wrong?

Aurelio. —I don’t know, she didn’t say a word. _(To the woman)_ Has someone sent you here to collect information from us?

_Suddenly, the woman turns around and starts walking away. Marcus attempts to go outside but the older man pushes his chest to keep him in place and closes the door._

Aurelio. —Don’t mind her. She must be drunk and in the worst case, she could be a spy. _(Looking at Tamara who is coming through the corridor)_ Tamara, have you put the laptop in the bedroom? 

Tamara. —Yes, Sir.

Aurelio. —-Why do you have that look on your face then?

Tamara. —I can’t find my purse. I was sure I’ve left it inside the wardrobe with our belongings.

Aurelio. —Have you looked in the other two rooms?

Tamara. —Yeah, it’s nowhere. I’m a bit worried because I wanted to call home to see if everything is fine but my mobile phone is inside it.

Sophia.—I can call you and then the ringtone will guide us to your purse. _(She grabs her mobile phone from the night table)_ I’m afraid we have no signal here.

Marcus. —Why don’t you come with me then? We can go outside and see if we can get a signal. _(He takes his phone and leads Tamara out of the house)._

_The night is still silent but in the distance some crickets are perceivable, typical from summer season. They start walking the path to the front gate which is approximately a hundred meters away. With his gentleman side, Marcus takes care of Tamara’s walk so that she doesn’t step on fresh mud but unluckily for him, he hasn’t brought his jacket to give it to her once she starts shrugging her shoulders._

Marcus. —Do you like the country house?

Tamara. —Yeah, I mean, it’s so different from my own home, the size specifically. _(She chuckles)._

Marcus. —I know Aurelio has been very paranoid about this design but at least it’s not so bad to have the possibility to enjoy this location for the weekend.

Tamara. —I guess so.

Marcus. —You are not satisfied with the new product?

Tamara. —As long as Aurelio likes it, it doesn’t really matter what I think.

Marcus. —Well, to me it does. You don’t like him very much, do you?

Tamara. —It’s not proper to talk about my boss with his colleague.

Marcus. —I’ve seen the way he harasses you… No, please, don’t be uncomfortable around me. I should be the one embarrassed because I don’t know how to stop him. He is too powerful.

Tamara. —Yes, he is. And it’s not like I could magically wake up one day being more powerful than him so I guess I’ll just have to keep quiet. I need the job. He will destroy my references if I dare to take action against him.

Marcus. —I’m sorry, Tamara.

Tamara. —Have you found a signal?

_Marcus checks on the mobile phone and sees one line. Smiling, he hands it to Tamara and while she calls home, he walks some meters away to give her space. Once next to the front gate, he approaches his BMW and leans against the side of the car to look up and enjoy the cloudy sky view. The air is a bit cooler now but after a whole night of hard work, it feels like a reward. When he turn his head back down, he notices Aurelio’s car, which is right next to his, has the four tires punctured._

Marcus. —What the hell? _(He checks the car for other type of vandalism but finds none)._

Tamara. —Thank you, Marcus. _(She comes closer to him and gives him back the phone)_ What’s wrong?

Marcus. —I don’t know, the tires are punctured.

Tamara. —What? Could it have been that girl who called at the door?

Marcus. —I’m not sure. Come on, we should come back, I have to tell Aurelio.

_They both hurry their way to the house and Sophia opens the door for them._

Marcus. —Aurelio… I’m afraid something happened to your car.

Aurelio. _(_ _Alert, getting on his feet)_ —What do you mean? 

Marcus. —I think you should come and see it for yourself.

_Sophia, who is also intrigued, joins the two men. Tamara wants too but the boss stops her._

Aurelio. —I think you should stay inside. Watch that laptop.

Tamara. ( _Sighing after they all leave)_ –Fine.

_The house seems now a bigger place due to the sudden emptiness and each step the blonde secretary makes echoes across the living room. She starts checking for her purse behind the sofa and between the cushions, trying to stretch her arm for the harder reachable spots. When she lies on the floor to search under the single armchair, a soft noise alerts her. She turns to the side to see where it came from but notices nothing so she focuses her attention on finding the purse again. A few seconds later, the same noise finally makes her stand up. In slow motion she walks to the kitchen. With her hand on the large wooden table supporting her insecure steps, she looks around._

Tamara. —Hello? Gentlemen, is that you?

_Suddenly her fingers reach the corner of the table and they are surprised by the kettle she had left on the stove a while ago._

Tamara. —Mrs. Sophia, is that you?

_An abrupt loud sound of something falling makes her jump and watch backwards. As soon as she does, she finds her purse on the floor._

Tamara. —What?

_She hurries to grab it and when she opens it, her mobile phone is inside but the screen is broken as if something has hit it with violence. She presses the keys for any of them to respond but of course the damage is not fixable._

Tamara. —Fuck!

_It’s then when she hears the door opening and at first she hides behind the kitchen wall till she realizes that it’s the three businessmen._

Aurelio. —Fucking bitch!

Marcus. —Aurelio, please come down, you are not sure if it was her.

Aurelio. —Have you seen what I saw Marcus? Of course it was that bitch.

Sophia.—Young ones are crazy nowadays.

Aurelio. —It’s not the young ones. I’m sure she was sent by the competition.

Marcus. —We don’t have any evidence to sustain that.

Aurelio. —Then why the hell would she vandalize my car? We need to call the police. 

Marcus. —We are not calling the police on a girl who we don’t know if it was her. She may not be even around here anymore!

Tamara. —Gentlemen…

Aurelio. —Oh that’s it, where were you?!

Tamara. —Mr. Aurelio, you told me to stay here.

Marcus. —Aurelio, you need to calm down.

Tamara. —I’m sorry to interrupt you, but I think something is not right.

Marcus. —What do you mean?

_Tamara shows them her broken mobile phone._

Aurelio. —We don’t have time now for a mediocre phone. I’ll buy you one when we come back to the fucking city.

Tamara. —That’s not the point, Mr. Aurelio. I haven’t broken it. I found it like this inside my purse.

Sophia.—And where was your purse?

Tamara. —That’s what I’m trying to explain. It appeared all of a sudden on the kitchen floor.

Aurelio. —-You should be more careful then on where you leave your stuff.

Tamara. —I didn’t…

_Marcus makes a gesture for Tamara to understand it’s not opportune to keep talking to Aurelio. Tamara comes closer to the younger man._

Tamara. _(_ _Whispering)_ —I insist, Mr. Marcus. Something is happening here. The car, my phone…

Marcus. —Maybe it was just a joke the thing with the tires…

_Another loud noise makes them jump all together. Marcus starts walking carefully to the kitchen while the other three stay frozen in place. The man follows the next soft noises and finally finds a cat hiding in the small space between the wall and the fridge. Laughing, he picks it up and comes back to the group._

Marcus. —I think we found the one who damaged your phone, Tamara. We can’t blame him, can we? Poor guy, he must be starving.

Aurelio. _(_ _With disgust)_ —Ugh, Marcus take that hairy thing away from me. What’s that? He has feathers in his mouth?

_Aurelio steps back while Sophia pets the animal’s head for a bit before Marcus put him on the floor and it runs to the corridor._

Aurelio. —Where’s the laptop, Tamara? Bring it here.

_Tamara goes to the bedroom._

Sophia.—Aurelio, are we going to keep working?

Aurelio. —No. We are leaving.

Sophia. —What? Aurelio you said you wanted to spend the night to protect the design till the patent.

Aurelio. —I know what I said. But it’s over.

_Tamara walks to them holding the laptop in her hands with a worried expression._

Aurelio. —What’s wrong now?

Tamara. —Mr. Aurelio, I think something happened to… the laptop.

_She hands the item to him and when the boss moves the screen up, he notices it’s also crushed._

Aurelio. —What?!

_They all go to the night table and try uselessly to turn the laptop on._

Aurelio. _(_ _Yelling)_ —The design! _(He pushes violently the laptop off of the table)._

Marcus. —Aurelio, please!

Aurelio. —What, what are you going to tell me now? _(To Tamara)_ Was it that cat? Was it that fucking cat?

Tamara. —How could it have been him? The laptop was on the bed, it didn’t fall. The animal doesn’t have enough strength to do that.

Aurelio. —Why didn’t you watch it?! I left you here to keep an eye on it!

Marcus. —Aurelio!

Aurelio. —I’m done. I’m calling the police!

_Aurelio takes his phone, opens the door and leaves while Marcus holds it open for a second._

Marcus. —Stay inside.

_Once Marcus is gone too, Sophia locks the door and starts anxiously rubbing her arms._

Sophia.—What the hell is going on?

Tamara. —I don’t know, but I’m going to check the house.

Sophia. —Please be careful.

_Tamara starts walking the corridor._

Tamara. —Hello? If anybody is trying to find information, I’m afraid you’ve sabotaged your own purpose. Hello?

_The three bedrooms on the right are clear as well as the laundry room on the left. But once she opens the bathroom door, she realizes the wide mirror on the wall has been painted with red lipstick with smiley disturbing faces and lots of “Hello” written on it as well. As a reflex, she slams the door closed and comes back running to Sophia._

Sophia. —What’s happening?!

Tamara. _(_ _Agitated)_ —Have you locked the door?

Sophia. —Yeah… yes, what’s going on?!

Tamara. —Someone has been here. I found no one in the rooms but they’ve left a note in the bathroom.

Sophia. —A note? What kind of note?

Tamara. —I don’t know. We need to get out of here.

Sophia. —Marcus and Aurelio are outside. They’ll bring the police.

Tamara. —Can you see if your phone is working, Mrs. Sophia?

Sophia. —Yes, but they are already taking c are of that.

Tamara. _(_ _Insistently)_ —Please, check for any signal.

_While Sophia’s movements are slow due to her not understanding the change of environment, Tamara is, on the other hand, running to the kitchen to look for a knife inside the drawers. She finds it on the first one and turns to look at Sophia who is now standing on the sofa and moving her phone towards the upper part of the picture window._

Tamara. —Have you got a signal?

Sophia. —Not yet, I’m just trying to…

_The mask of Pin Up appears right in the picture window and causes Sophia to scream and fall back. Tamara runs to her._

Sophia. —Who is she?! Who is she?!

Tamara. _(S_ _creaming at Pin Up)_ —What do you want?!

_Pin Up taps on the window with the sharp point of her knife._

Tamara. —Go away!

_Pin Up’s mask disappears. As soon as Tamara helps Sophia get on her feet, they hear lots of knocks on the door._

Sophia. —LEAVE US ALONE!

Aurelio and Marcus. —Open! Open the door! Open it!

_Tamara runs to the door to let the men in and slams it close behind them. They both are out of breath, terrified._

Marcus. —Lock it! Lock it now!

Tamara. —What’s happening?

Marcus. —Aurelio… Aurelio was trying to call the police and we saw…

Tamara. —What?!

Marcus. —A man. He-he was… he had an axe and his head…

Aurelio. —He had a fucking bag on his head! He was coming at us!

Sophia. —Oh my god… we saw a woman too. She’s masked, she has a knife _(Pointing to the window)._ She was right here!

Aurelio. —That fucking girl who called at the door.

Sophia. —What do they want?!

Aurelio. —I don’t fucking know, Sophia!

Tamara. —They want to kill us

Aurelio. —What are you saying?

Tamara. —This is not competition, Mr. Aurelio.

Sophia. _(_ _Crying)_ —What do you mean? No, no, this is not happening.

Aurelio. —Just shut the fuck up, Sophia! Let me think, let me think.

_Suddenly a hack on the door makes them scream and then the mask of The Man appears through the hole he has done. The four people stay for a moment frozen in place till the second hack comes and they start panicking._

Aurelio. —Okay, okay, everybody to the bedroom, now!

_They run to the main bedroom. It has a double bed and a tall wardrobe on the opposite wall. The strikes from the hacks are still audible._

Sophia. —Oh god, he is going to come in!

Marcus. —Aurelio, help me move the bed.

_The two men push the bed towards the door to create a barricade._

Sophia. _(Screaming)—_ They are going to come in, I don’t want to die!

Aurelio. _(_ _Violently covering her mouth)_ —Shhh. All of us are going to stay fucking quiet. _(Lowering his voice)_. Any signal?

Marcus. —No.

Sophia _. (S_ _lowly pushing Aurelio’s hand out of her mouth)_ —So you didn’t call the police?

Aurelio. —We couldn’t. That creep took us by surprise.

Sophia. —And what do we do now?

Tamara. —He is not hitting the door anymore.

Sophia. —What?

Tamara. —Sh.

_Tamara walks to the bedroom door and lays her ear on it._

Tamara. —No, he is not.

Suddenly, the sharp extreme of the axe pierces the wood right next to her head. Everybody screams and she goes back to the group.

Marcus. —What do you want?! Please!

Tamara. —The cat

Marcus. —What?

Tamara. —That is where the cat came from

_She points right next to the wardrobe where an air vent is peeking out with its cover hanging from one corner._

Tamara. —Where does it take to?

Aurelio. —The entrance, close to the shed. Come on, Marcus, help me move it.

_While the two men push the wardrobe to get the whole cavity of the air vent clear, Sophia stays horrified with her back against the wall, screaming every time she hears the hacks. Soon Tamara notices The Man in The Mask is going to be able to step on the bed and come in so she carefully situates next to the door holding her knife. To her surprise, despite the hole created on the door, the man moves his hand to the doorknob almost as if he is mocking them since he sees perfectly the barricade. Despite that, Tamara makes a cut in his hand and he quickly pulls it out. Then they hear his steps moving away._

Aurelio. —Sophia, come on, get inside.

Sophia. —What?

Aurelio. —Come on, you are the thinnest of us. Congratulations, your fucking rice cracker diet worked. Now get inside!

Sophia. —I’m… I’m not going to go inside that.

Aurelio. —Come on Sophia we don’t have time. It’s going to be easier for you to slide along it.

Marcus. _(A_ _pproaching her)_ –Sophia, you are the one who can do it better. You need to get out of here and call the police. Got your mobile phone with you?

Sophia. —Yes but what if she is outside? I can’t.

Marcus. —Hey, Sophia, look at me. You are going to be fine, okay? We need you.

_Marcus gently guides her towards the air vent and helps her get inside._

Marcus _. (_ _To Aurelio)_ —Does it have any bifurcations?

Aurelio. —No.

Marcus. —Sophia, listen to me. It’ll send you straight outside, you just have to keep crawling and you’ll get there.

Sophia. _(_ _Whining)_ –It’s so dark in here. This is horrible.

Marcus. —Just keep going.

_There are a few seconds of silence._

Sophia. —People… what’s that sound?

Marcus. —Sophia?

Sophia. —People…

Marcus. —What’s going on there?

_Sophia stops crawling to look around in the semidarkness. Her agitated breath echoes along with what sounds like a lingering scratch to the air vent floor._

Sophia. _(_ _Whispering, sobbing)_ —Hello?

_She starts crawling again and after a meter, Pin Up appears in front of her and in the blink of an eye she slits her throat. Some blood drops manage to slide along the air vent till they fall on the bedroom floor._

Marcus. —What the fuck? Sophia! Sophia are you okay?! _(To Tamara who is still watching at the door)_ Where is he?

Tamara. —I don’t know; he’s gone away.

Marcus. —Oh god, we need to get her out of there.

_Marcus attempts to go inside the air vent but Aurelio stops him._

Aurelio. —We’re not doing that.

Marcus. —What are you talking about? We can’t leave her there.

Aurelio. —She is more useful there. No one would come in through the air vent if her body is there. Or at least it’ll be more difficult.

Marcus. —I’m not going to leave her stuck. She needs our help. _(Yelling)_ Sophia!

Aurelio. ( _Collecting blood from the floor and moving his fingers angrily in the air)_ —Look at this, look at this! She doesn’t answer. She is dead! Do you want us dead too?!

Marcus. —It’s my fault. It’s my damn fault. I told her to do it.

Aurelio. —She decided to go there willingly.

Marcus. —That’s not true. I pushed her and she didn’t want to.

_While Marcus tries to understand the scene, Aurelio walks to Tamara who is standing in silence not knowing how to react._

Aurelio. —-Are you sure he’s gone away?

Tamara. —I think so.

Aurelio. —Nice knife. I didn’t see it at first. Clever movement. _(To the both of them)_ We need to get outside and possibly to the car or the road. They are two, we are… three.

Marcus. —Yes, but they have weapons, Aurelio.

Aurelio. —Do you have a better idea? It’s a fucking hatchet. If we run we are going to be okay. Unless I see a gun, I’m getting the hell out of here.

_Aurelio kneels on the bed, looks from the hole on the door and sees no one so he makes a sign for the other two to follow him. Once they are out, they run to the main door. He inhales deeply and opens it just a little bit to spy outside. Only plain darkness of the night._

Aurelio. —Careful, look at both sides, we don’t want those creeps to surprise us.

_They run all the way to the front gate where the cars are parked. They instinctively try to open Marcus’ car doors but they are closed. While the man searches for the keys inside his pocket, Tamara notices Pin Up’s in the distance, next to the shed._

Tamara. —Gentlemen, gentlemen the keys!

_Pin Up starts walking slowly towards them but almost as if she doesn’t mean to advance. Once Marcus finds the keys, they get inside the vehicle._

Marcus. —Where’s the remote control for the gate?

Aurelio. —I don’t know! I think I’ve left it in the house.

Tamara. —She is coming!

Marcus. —Hold on.

_Marcus starts the engine and makes a maneuver to circle the lot, accelerating all the way to Pin Up who manages to dodge the strike. The car hits the gate, making it fly away and with poor direction of the driver, it moves along the dirt streets. Aurelio takes his mobile phone and calls the police._

Aurelio. —Yes! We-we were, we are at (insert location), there are people trying to kill us. I don’t know! Some guy and a woman! Don’t tell me to calm down, they are trying to kills us, can’t you hear what I’m fucking saying?! _(With sarcasm)_ Yes, I’ll stay on the phone, thanks.

Tamara. —What did they say?

Aurelio. —Help is on the way.

Marcus. _(Reaching the paved road) —_ Not if we make it first.

Aurelio. _(Yelling, energetically)_ —YES! YES! Don’t stop, Marcus. Let’s get the fuck out of here. We are going back to the city, Tamara. Tamara, are you okay back there?

Tamara. —Why did they leave this car?

Aurelio. —What?

Tamara. —This car, why wouldn’t they puncture the tires too?

_There’s a moment of silence when they all look at each other and then, the collision. The truck of the Man in the Mask strikes them at full speed from the side causing the car to flip over till it lands on its side against a tree. Confused, Aurelio and Tamara start opening their eyes after the hit with some blood on their faces. The woman looks to the side and notices a cat, similar to the one which was at the house, meowing next to the broken window._

Aurelio. —Tamara…, are you okay?

Tamara. —I think my ankle is hurt. Mr. Aurelio, how’s Marcus?

_They look at him. Aurelio tries to reach him but the airbag is trapping his body._

Aurelio. —Marcus! Marcus, wake up!

_Marcus opens his eyes and starts struggling to get free. Tamara looks again to the side and sees the truck a few meters away and the Man in the Mask walking towards them._

Tamara. —Oh God, he is coming. Come on!

_Tamara and Aurelio manage to get out through the broken windows but when she tries to help Marcus, Aurelio pulls her away._

Tamara. —No! We need to help him.

Marcus. —Don’t! Don’t leave me! Please!

Aurelio. —Tamara… Watch out!

_They are quick to dodge the hack from the Man in the Mask. The cutting edge of the axe hits the solid material of the door and Tamara and Aurelio start running before he gets the chance to attack them again. The Man in the Mask leans down and pats the cat’s back before opening the door._

Marcus. _(_ _Shouting)_ —Tamara!

__

_Aurelio and Tamara come back to the country house and, looking everywhere to make sure Pin Up is not on sight, they run to the shed._

Careful to not make any noise, Aurelio makes a few steps to turn on the lightbulb that hangs from the ceiling and it lightens the shelves surrounding them with tools and boxes covered in dust. There is also a shovel and a rake standing in the corner. 

Tamara. —Are you sure no one can see the light from the outside?

Aurelio. —Yes, I am.

Tamara. _(With acceptance)_ —He killed him, didn’t he?

Aurelio. —You shouldn’t think about that now. We need to focus on staying alive till the police come. _(He takes the rake to secure the two doors together and slowly comes back to her)._

Tamara. —This is not fair. How could the two of them be dead? Just like they were nothing, by the hand of two crazy people.

Aurelio. —There are lots of people in the world whose lives value nothing. Life is not fair. Bad things happen to good people. _(He gets closer to her but Tamara steps back)._

Tamara. —How long do you think it’ll take for the police to come, Mr. Aurelio?

Aurelio. —Why? You don’t think I can protect you?

Tamara. —It’s not that. Frankly, I don’t fancy being in the middle of nowhere with two killers haunting us.

Aurelio. —It’s not the only thing you don’t seem to fancy. _(He moves towards her and she walks backwards again)_ I gave you everything I had in my hand and you still dodge me, you still believe I won’t manage to keep you safe. Why is that? Is it because I’m not as young and full of vitality like Marcus is?

Tamara. _(_ _Whispering)_ —Mr. Aurelio…

Aurelio. —Or was, actually. You know, he must be dead by now.

_Tamara stops looking at him and ends in the corner._

Aurelio. —Think about it, Tamara. We may die tonight. You could be my last wish. What do you think it’d take for it to become reality?

_Tamara surreptitiously gropes the pocket of his jeans but Aurelio takes the kitchen knife from his own pocket._

Aurelio. —You are looking for this? I took it when the car turned over. Three years by my side and even in this moment I see you still don’t trust me. Maybe I can’t trust you either. But trust is not important right now, neither agreement _(He tucks her hair behind the ear with the knife)._

Tamara. —Mr. Aurelio, please…

Aurelio. —Shh. You need to keep quiet. Don’t you want me to be your savior? I would never leave you behind like I did with them both. You are special, my little doll.

_Aurelio grabs a hold of her shirt but before he can cut it, Tamara takes the shovel and hits him with it. As the man lies on the floor in pain, she drops the heavy item and goes to the doors to take the rake off._

_Now outside, she starts running but when she turns to see behind, she notices Aurelio is coming after her as well as Pin Up from the distance._

Tamara. —Fuck!

Aurelio. _(_ _Yelling, completely out of his mind)_ —Tamara!

_While she keeps running poorly due the hurt ankle, she sees the familiar truck parking outside of what used to be the front gate and all of a sudden, the Man in the Mask getting out of the vehicle with his blood covered axe stops her. Then Aurelio takes advantage of her stop and throws her on the ground while Pin Up comes from behind and the Man in the Mask gets closer to them from the front. Tamara screams for help as she struggles against Aurelio who madly tries to attack her with the knife._

Aurelio. —What did you think, huh? That you could hit me in the fucking face and get out of here alive with the new design idea I made you participant of?

Tamara. _(S_ _creaming)_ —Help!

Aurelio. —At least I’m going to have the pleasure of taking a whore with me.

_Suddenly, Tamara manages to kick him in the crotch and gets his knife. With Pin Up and the Man in the Mask just two feet away from them, she moves on top of Aurelio and brutally stabs him on his stomach. Aurelio lets out a suffocated pained scream but Tamara keeps going, full of ecstasy, sinking the knife violently and repeatedly into his flesh till the blood has splattered all over her arms and face. Exhausted, breathing heavily, she looks at the two killers in front of them. They are motionless as if they are waiting for her next movement. Seeing that they are not reacting, she runs towards the truck and opens the door to get inside. She looks everywhere for the key but is unable to find it and within her desperation, she presses the accelerator pedal with her foot like she could make the vehicle move._

_Pin Up and the Man in the Mask reach the car. She gets inside from the right as he does the same from the left. Tamara screams and tries to stab him but being stronger than her, he holds her wrist and takes the knife from her hand, leaving it on the upper part of the car dash. Pin Up opens the glove box and takes a Doll face mask out of it, accommodating it next to the knife without saying a word either. Tamara looks bewildered at them but when the man starts the car engine and they begin to move, she just focuses straight ahead on the streets. When they reach the desert paved road, a man steps on the way and the truck stops abruptly. It’s Marcus and he is bleeding from his stomach as well as blood is coming out of his mouth while he tries to protect his eyes from the lights of the vehicle._

Marcus. _(Babbling, disoriented)_ —Please…

_Pin Up opens the door and gets out. Tamara grabs the mask and the knife and does the same too. She walks to Marcus and looks at him in silence._

Marcus. —Help me.

_Tamara puts on the mask and stabs him in the already bleeding wound of his stomach and he falls on the asphalt._

Marcus. _(_ _Spitting more blood, sobbing)_ —Why…? This isn’t you…

Tamara. _(_ _Leans down and kills him by slitting his throat)_ —Don’t worry, I’ll try to find myself.

_Tamara walks back to the truck and gets in. Pin Up is about to walk too but she hears the meowing of the cat at the side of the road. She picks it up and gets inside the vehicle with the animal on her lap._

_In the distance, the sound and the light of the police sirens. They start moving again and the Man in the Mask turns on the car stereo:_

****

**_“Little red purse, a bible verse_ **

**_Sirens on a one-way street_ **

**_Written in blood in river mud_ **

**_Killer in the catbird seat, there’s a killer in the catbird seat”._ **

****

****


End file.
